Floral Nectar Microbial communities in artificial warming of Penstemon heterophyllus

This research was conducted in order to study the effects of climate change on nectar-inhabiting microbial communities. In a manipulative field experiment we used a passive-heating technique to artificially increase the ambient temperature of a California native plant, Pentstemon heterophyllus, to test the hypothesis that elevated temperatures will affect nectar traits and nectar-inhabiting microbial communities. Nectar-inhabiting microbial communities play a role in floral selection by pollinators and potentially influence pollination success. It is important to understand how these microbial communities may be affected by climate change for the future conservation of the ecosystem service, pollination.